Martinsville Rookie Notes: #82-Scott Speed was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the March 22 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Speed scored a 28th-place finish and took top rookie honors for the second time this season. #20-Joey Logano leads Speed by one point (53-52) in the Raybestos Rookie standings entering the March 29 Goodys Fast Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. J.J. Yeley is the most recent Raybestos Rookie to lead a lap in the spring race at Martinsville, leading once for one lap in 2006. Morgan Shepherd is the only Raybestos Rookie to win the Goodys Fast Pain Relief 500 (since 1975). Shepherd won the 1981 event, outlasting the late Neil Bonnett to score his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win. Shepherd led the most laps in the race (three times for 203) and remains the most recent Raybestos Rookie to lead the most laps in the spring race at Martinsville. Two other Raybestos Rookies scored top-10 finishes that same day: Ron Bouchard (ninth) and Mike Alexander (10th). The most Raybestos Rookies to finish in the top-10 in the spring race at Martinsville are FOUR. In 1979, Joe Millikan placed fifth ahead of Harry Gant (sixth), Dale Earnhardt (seventh) and Terry Labonte (ninth). The most recent Raybestos Rookie to score a top-five finish in the spring race at Martinsville is Dick Trickle. Trickle finished third in 1989. Trickle also led the race once for seven laps. The most recent Raybestos Rookie to score a top-10 finish in the Goodys Fast Pain Relief 500 is Jeff Gordon, who placed eighth in 1993. Tony Stewart is the only Raybestos Rookie to win the pole for the Goodys Fast Pain Relief 500 (since 1975). Stewart won his first career pole at Martinsville in 1999.(Camp & Assoc./Raybestos PR), see rookie history, standings, stats, notes on the2009 Rookies page.(3-26-2009)
